Sun Hung Kai Properties' joint-venture project ION Orchard shopping mall of the Orchard Turn development in Singapore is now open. ION Orchard is in the heart of the famed Orchard Road. Its distinctive design, retail concept and prime location have attracted many well-known international brands, leading a modern retail scene in Singapore.

ION Orchard is a joint venture by Sun Hung Kai Properties and Singapore's CapitaLand, just above the Orchard Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. The eight-storey mall has over 640,000 square feet of lettable space, and with 335 shops, visitors can look forward to refreshingly new and favourite offerings covering the spectrum of fashion, food and lifestyle in Singapore's newest retail destination.

Soon Su Lin, Chief Executive of Orchard Turn Developments, said: "Our vision for ION Orchard was to create an experience – an icon fitting of its unmatched location at the gateway to one of Asia's most vibrant shopping strips. This vision has now become a reality, bringing a renewed freshness and energy to the surroundings. With Orchard Road's footfall of more than 200,000 a day, we are confident that ION Orchard will become a must-go-to destination. Shoppers can be assured of a great experience which will have them coming back repeatedly."

Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency Executive Director Jimmy Wong said: "SHKP is committed to high quality developments, and has an extensive portfolio of shopping centres in Hong Kong and on the mainland, and has the largest network of shopping centres in Hong Kong. The favorable response from noted local and international retailers to ION Orchard shows that SHKP has successfully introduced its retail development and operations experience to Singapore, which recognized our commitment to high quality and professional service. SHKP is pleased to partner CapitaLand, and is committed to ensuring that ION Orchard becomes the retail benchmark for Singapore."

Lim Beng Chee, Chief Executive Officer of CapitaLand Retail, said, "The opening of ION Orchard is a significant milestone in the collaboration between CapitaLand and SHKP. The collaboration is a partnership of two companies which hold high regard for each other's strong track record in creating high-quality retail malls and residential projects in our respective international and domestic markets, and this project marks the coming to fruition of our combined belief and resources."

Integrated with its surroundings

Right from the conceptualization stage, careful and detailed planning was done to ensure the development was well integrated and connected to its surrounding buildings and facilities. Pedestrians have more sidewalk space adjoining the sheltered ION², as well as greater connectivity to buildings in the vicinity via a well-linked underground pedestrian network.

With the advantage of sitting above the Orchard MRT station, ION Orchard has direct access to the underground station, and with Orchard Road and Orchard Boulevard on either side, the mall is also accessible via several major bus routes that will bring commuters directly to the mall.

International brands and special stores

As one a top shopping mall, ION Orchard houses a collection of global flagship and concept stores of both established and new-to-market brands, covering the spectrum of fashion, lifestyle, entertainment and F&B. Levels 1 to 4 of the mall are dedicated to luxury and premium international brands, while levels B1 to B4 offer popular and high street labels, bridge fashion brands and lifestyle shops.

The mall is also home to ten duplex flagship stores of some of Singapore's most favourite fashion brands. Six of these luxury brand duplex stores, with a combined area of almost 50,000 square feet and about 11 metres in height, create a dramatic frontage for ION Orchard. The other high street duplex flagship stores can be found at Basements 2 and 3.

ION Orchard has gourmet food from all over the world, with more than 21 per cent of space dedicated to food and dining options comprising a delectable range of international and local fare, from casual to fine dining; food stores and confectionary, and a gourmet supermarket. Spread across different levels of the mall are 27 restaurants and cafes, with the largest clusters on Level 4 (for fine dining) and Basements 2 and 3 (for casual dining). In addition, Basement 4 features ION Food Hall, home to the largest variety of international cuisine, foodstuff and snacks in one location on Orchard Road – with no less than 80 food stalls and cuisines guaranteed to satisfy all palates.

A Shopaholic Fantasy

ION Orchard incorporates event spaces in its design. Media architecture is wrapped around its façade and ION² is a fully sheltered public square for large events, gatherings and celebrations. ION Sky is a viewing venue that gives visitors a commanding and unhindered 360° panoramic view of the city from the highest point in this prime spot (opening end 2010), and ION Art is an event space dedicated to the exhibition of modern and contemporary art and design featuring some of the best Asian and Singapore contemporary works by established and emerging artists and designers. Visitors to the mall also have multiple gathering points inside, including the atrium at Level 1 and ION Station at Basement 4.

Reinforcing the mall's premium status, emphasis is on customer care. Besides concierge staff at four counters, ION Officers will be roving ambassadors to assist customers and ensure they have a pleasant shopping experience. As testament to the importance of Orchard Road as a tourist destination, the Singapore Tourism Board has set up the Singapore Visitors Centre at Level 1 of the mall.

"July 21 marks the soft opening of our mall and in the coming weeks we will continue to roll out several projects in the lead up to our official launch in October this year. There is an exciting calendar of festivals and signature events to give shoppers plenty of reasons to return for more." said Ms Soon.

About the Orchard Turn development

The Orchard Turn development is a prime retail and luxury residential project at the gateway of Orchard Road in Singapore. Jointly owned and managed by CapitaLand and Sun Hung Kai Properties, the iconic development is situated above the Orchard Mass Rapid Transit station and enjoys underground connectivity to nearby buildings. The completed Orchard Turn development will boast over one million square feet of retail space at ION Orchard and luxury Orchard Residences. With a 56-storey tower measuring 218 metres, the development will be the tallest building on Orchard Road with 175 luxury homes. ION Orchard won top honours in the business-to-business marketing category at the prestigious Asia Shopping Centre Awards presented by the International Council of Shopping Centres. The architects for the project are Benoy (design) and RSP Architect Planners & Engineers.